The former Hoya will serve 20 years for a horrifying assault on a teenager.
Victor Page’s name breaks my heart just a tiny bit every time I hear it.
From an age perspective, as well as a sociological one, he and I were contemporaries in our youths.
Although not on the same level athletically, sociologically we shared poverty and the trauma it brings. So, hell yeah I was cheering for him.
While he played at Georgetown University, I toiled a nondescript junior college in upstate New York trying to kick my hoop dream up to the next level, and I regularly rocked the blue on white Hoya shorts all over campus.
While at school, though there were clearly members of the faculty staff who took it as their personal mission to “keep an eye on that guy”, the overwhelming majority of the tutelage I got from the staff was one of support and mentorship. That’s why it’s difficult for me to fathom how someone with so many resources at his disposal could screw it all up so horribly.
His game was one of high energy yet poor shot-selection. But he had a shot and the future was all lined up for him. His legacy was supposed to follow in the same lane as that of teammate Allen Iverson, who had left Georgetown in 1996. Page was supposed to slide right in and pursue an NBA dream.
But not all experience the success projected for them. Indeed, some spirits are so averse to the very notion of overcoming trauma that they seek it out. Unfortunately, Victor Page is one of those individuals who suffer from that dilemma, and it just reared its ugly head again.
Last December, a 17-year-old girl went to authorities claiming Paige assaulted her at the victim’s apartment in Camp Springs, Maryland.
Paige, 43-years-old, is alleged to have tried to rape the victim inside her home. She was able to escape but was accosted by Paige outside, who then smothered her on the ground for minutes. It was a horrifying incident caught on camera, and he was arrested just days later and and accused of assault, attempted rape and child abuse.
The Prince George’s County State Attorney’s Office says Paige agreed to a deal and will plead guilty to 1st degree assault and 4th degree attempted sex offense.
Page played basketball at Georgetown from 1995-97, and was the Big East’s leading scorer in the ’96-’97 season. Unfortunately, his post-college career wasn’t as successful as he went undrafted and had a brief career in the CBA and overseas in Italy and the Philippines. Yet trouble seemed to stay in close proximity to Page, as he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2013 for second-degree assault, but was released early.
Six years later, Page is back in trouble with the law. As part of his agreement with the courts, the former Georgetown Hoya will get 20 years in prison, as opposed to life. In addition, he will also have to register as a sex offender when he’s released from jail and must provide a DNA sample for 15 years.
